HAYNES v. HIGBEE

Filing 2

MEMORANDUM and ORDER Plaintiff's TRO request is DISMISSED. ORDERED IFP is DENIED and Clerk shall administratively terminate this matter. ORDERED Clerk shall send Plaintiff a blank IFP, a blank civil rights complaint form, and a copy of this Order. ORDERED Plaintiff has 30 days from the entry of this Order to reopen this matter. Signed by Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle on 8/7/2014. (nz, )n.m.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

JOHN C. HAYNES,
Plaintiff,
v.
H. HIGBEE,
Defendant.

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Civil Action No. 14-4187 (JBS)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Plaintiff, confined at the South Woods State Prison, Bridgeton, New Jersey, filed this
“Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order,” without a filing fee. A review of the Motion
reveals that Plaintiff’s action seeks redress for alleged violations of his constitutional rights, in
particular, access to the courts and retaliation. This Court assumes that he seeks to bring this civil
action in forma pauperis, without prepayment of fees or security, asserting claims pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1983. The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”), which amends 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915, establishes certain financial requirements for prisoners who are attempting to bring a
civil action in forma pauperis.
Under the Act, a prisoner bringing a civil action in forma pauperis must submit an
affidavit, including a statement of all assets, which states that the prisoner is unable to pay the
fee. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). The prisoner also must submit a certified copy of his inmate trust
fund account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of his
complaint. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). The prisoner must obtain this statement from the appropriate
official of each prison at which he was or is confined. Id.

The entire fee to be paid in advance of filing a civil complaint is $400. That fee includes
a filing fee of $350 plus an administrative fee of $50, for a total of $400. A prisoner who is
granted in forma pauperis status will, instead, be assessed a filing fee of $350 and will not be
responsible for the $50 administrative fee. If in forma pauperis status is denied, the prisoner
must pay the full $400, including the $350 filing fee and the $50 administrative fee, before the
complaint will be filed.
If the prisoner is granted in forma pauperis status, the prisoner must pay the full amount
of the $350 filing fee as follows. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). In each month that the amount in the
prisoner’s account exceeds $10.00, until the $350.00 filing fee is paid, the agency having custody
of the prisoner shall assess, deduct from the prisoner’s account, and forward to the Clerk of the
Court, payment equal to 20% of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s
account. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
Plaintiff may not have known when he submitted his complaint that he must pay the
filing fee, and that even if the full filing fee, or any part of it, has been paid, the Court must
dismiss the case if it finds that the action is: (1) frivolous or malicious; (2) fails to state a claim
upon which relief may be granted; or (3) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is
immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). If the Court dismisses the case for any of
these reasons, the Act does not permit the prisoner to get his filing fee back.
If the prisoner has, on three or more prior occasions while incarcerated, brought an action
or appeal in a court that was dismissed on any of the grounds listed above, he cannot bring
another action in forma pauperis unless he is in imminent danger of serious physical injury. 28
U.S.C. § 1915(g).

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In this action, Plaintiff failed to submit a complete in forma pauperis application as
required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1), (2), including a certified account statement. Further, it
appears from a review of the Complaint that Plaintiff’s claims can be addressed in the regular
course of litigation and should be asserted in a Complaint, as opposed to this Motion. See Salesky
v. Balicki, 2013 WL 1871384 at *2 (D.N.J. May 2, 2013) (citations omitted) (“To secure the
extraordinary relief of a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, plaintiff must
demonstrate that: (1) he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) denial will result in irreparable
harm to him; (3) granting the injunction will not result in irreparable harm to the defendants; and
(4) granting the injunction is in the public interest.”); see also Opticians Ass'n of Am. v. Indep.
Opticians of Am., 920 F.2d 187, 192 (3d Cir. 1990) (“Only if the movant produces evidence
sufficient to convince the trial judge that all four factors favor preliminary relief should the
injunction issue.”).
THEREFORE, it is on this

7th

day of

August

, 2014;

ORDERED that Plaintiff’s request for a temporary restraining order is hereby
DISMISSED, without prejudice; and it is further
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis is hereby DENIED,
without prejudice; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall administratively terminate this case, without
assessing a filing fee; Plaintiff is informed that administrative termination is not a “dismissal” for
purposes of the statute of limitations, and that if the case is reopened, it is not subject to the
statute of limitations time bar if it was originally filed timely, see Jenkins v. Superintendent of
Laurel Highlands, 705 F.3d 80, 84 n.2 (3d Cir. 2013) (describing prisoner mailbox rule
generally); Dasilva v. Sheriff's Dept., 413 F. App’x 498, 502 (3d Cir. 2011) (“[The] statute of
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limitations is met when a complaint is submitted to the clerk before the statute runs ….”); and it
is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall send Plaintiff a blank form application to
proceed in forma pauperis; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall provide Plaintiff with a blank form Civil
Rights Complaint; and it is further
ORDERED that if Plaintiff wishes to reopen this case, he shall so notify the Court, in
writing addressed to the Clerk of the Court, Mitchell H. Cohen Building and U.S. Courthouse,
Fourth and Cooper Streets, Camden, New Jersey, 08101, within 30 days of the date of entry of
this Order; Plaintiff’s writing shall include either (1) a complete, signed in forma pauperis
application, including a certified six-month prison account statement, or (2) the $400 fee
including the $350 filing fee plus the $50 administrative fee. Plaintiff shall also provide a
completed, signed, form Complaint, and it is further
ORDERED that upon receipt of a writing from Plaintiff stating that he wishes to reopen
this case, and either a complete in forma pauperis application or payment of the filing and
administrative fees, along with a completed Complaint, within the time allotted by this Court, the
Clerk of the Court will be directed to reopen this case; and it is finally
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order upon Plaintiff by
regular U.S. mail.

s/ Jerome B. Simandle
JEROME B. SIMANDLE, Chief Judge
United States District Court

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